This invention relates to the dispensing of flexible, flanged trays one at a time from the bottom of a nested stack of such trays. These trays are widely used in the food industry, for example, by frozen food producers. Typically, these trays are shipped to the food producers in nested stacks. The trays must then be separated before filling them with food.
A continuing problem has been how to separate them rapidly and without error so that high-speed production line techniques for filling and packaging them can be used. Various solutions to the problem have been proposed (see, e.g., U.S. Pat No. 4,180,180, to Carl Fries, Jr., and the methods discussed therein).